Descendants of Ethiopian Jews who either converted to Christianity or assimilated out of Judaism but still claim to be Jewish and generally are perceived as such by non-Jews in Ethiopia. The first group of Falash Mura immigrants (see ALIYA) from Ethiopia arrived in Israel on 15 March 1998.
The Ministerial Committee on Absorption and Diaspora decided in July 1997 to enable the immigration of about 4,000 Falash Mura living in transit camps in Addis Ababa to immigrate to Israel over the coming year. The goal was to bring the balance of the estimated 17,000 Falash Mura to Israel within three years. A special intermin-isterial committee was formed by the government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in November 2006 to consider ways of maintaining the flow of Falasha Mura to Israel despite cuts in the state budget.
Historical Dictionary of Israel. Bernard Reich David H. Goldberg. Edited by Jon Woronoff..